WIBU to live in a caravan?

[PickledLilly]

I need to get out of my relationship but live in an area where rents/house prices are high and wages are low and Housing Association houses are impossible to get.

I hate the idea of being at the mercy of a landlord and want the security of something of my own but could never get a mortgage on just my wage. WIBU to buy a nice static caravan on a holiday park for me and my two children and cat to live in?

I know it would be a lot smaller than our current home (but so would anything I could afford to rent) but there are other year round residents, lovely grounds, playground and a swimming pool that’s all free for residents to use.

I just get this sense that some people would be aghast at me moving my children into a caravan but it honestly feels like my only way out. WIBU?

Some residential parks offer the option of renting so you could try before you buy to see if it works for you to reduce the investment risk. One thing to research thoroughly is whether the site is on a flood plain or in a flood risk zone

I can’t do shared ownership, I don’t earn enough to get a mortgage for the proportion I’d have to buy. A not particularly nice 2 bed flat locally is £100-£150k with no outside space for the kids. A second hand park home is around £30k.

As previously explained, I can’t live on a boat as one of my children is only a toddler and it wouldn’t be safe.

Oh my goodness £30k is really cheap! I would definitely do that. They are minimum £120k where I live, (according to a quick look on right move). That's park homes!

I haven't read all of the thread so apologies if this has already been mentioned. If having your post delivered to your mum's is likely to cause any kind of problem there is a very little known thing called Poste Restante (think that's the right name) it means you can use a local post office as your main address and have everything delivered there, can be used for banks, gps etc. If you go in and ask your post office, chances are they'll never have heard about it as it is rarely used as we're now very much a bricks and mortar country but it definitely still exists and they have to honour it. I only know about this as my dad lives on a Narrow Boat and travels round and his missus had to have a very long 'conversation' and lots of paper showing but finally managed to get it set up.

Yes they’re cheaper because they’re on a holiday site which had all the pitfalls mentioned above. If you want one on a residential site they’re 100k+ and usually only for over 55s. I’m aware a holiday site isn’t ideal and if I had a spare 100k I wouldn’t be in this pickle in the first place! It’s desperate times and I’m clutching at straws.

I lived in a static van for over a year. It's fine if you get a model that's insulated to residential standard. All static vans are nicely fitted with wardrobes, shower rooms and fitted kitchens nowadays and you soon get used to the smaller space. The biggest advantage to me was that it was detatched.
Personally I don't see why we don't have more residential parks where people can live all year round in the UK, as they do in America.

As to having post delivered, ours used to be delivered to the site office. You just give your field and pitch number as part of your address. Loads of people used to spend all summer there, it's not like they never had any post delivered.

Aaah, I see. Yes, I'd still do it in your shoes op. Good luck to you.

You may be entitled to some of your stbx's house, as someone said. Maybe you could stay with your mum till you figure that out, or maybe the caravan will just be a temporary step and you can let it out as a holiday let later and have some extra income from it.

As long as you have somewhere to go during shut down I don’t see the problem. Just make sure you get a double glazed central heated caravan. Some sites (butlins) include gas in the site fees although the fees are around 5k per year there when we where looking around. You can get extra insulation added underneath the caravan for around £200 or you can diy it with the rolled silver insulation and a staple gun if you don’t mind crawling underneath yourself. Personally I’d say always go for 12+ft wide that difference between the 10-12ft feels huge when your in it long term. Most sites have people there full time and the local area tend to cater winter let’s to them during shut down anyway it’s like a unspoken known secret.

I’m seeing it as a short term plan for 2-5 years by which time my youngest will be in school and I can work more hours and be a bit less cash strapped and then I can sell or let the holiday home for a bit of income.

My mum would absolutely let me stay but it’s really not a workable solution, there really isn’t room for all of us in her house for any length of time and I wouldn’t be able to take my beloved cat.

I’ve been trying to find a solution for a long time and I honestly haven’t been able to come up with anything else.

You wouldn't need to pay council tax at your mum's house if you are only using it as a care of address. You should check with the local authority if council tax is payable for permanent residents on the caravan park. Just give them the details of the park and they will be able to tell you.

I lived outside London in my late 20s, and a number of people who worked for the same company as me lived in mobile homes. As long as you can live 12 months a year there and it is accessible to local facilities, why not?

It is very accessible to local facilities, slightly tricky in terms of school runs and work but doable if my work can be flexible about start times or at worst, i’ll Have to pay for breakfast club but I have a car so it’s all manageable.

If a holiday site is allowing permanent residents they are in breach of their license. It might be fine, or you could find they are investigated and anyone living there is thrown out. It’s not a risk I’d be prepared to take. We own a static on a holiday park and we had to provide proof of having another address (driving licence, utility bills, council tax). It also costs us £400 per month to cover site fees and utilities. Before you add the cost of the caravan finance.

Have you considered all of the options?

Would you and your mum be able to get a bigger place together?

Do you have savings to be able to buy the static?
If so, could you get yourself off the mortgage (I assume you're not a joint owner) and look into doing help to buy on a new build? You can get much more than you might think.

I would see a solicitor and financial advisor. There may be more options than you think.

If it's true that the park might end up throwing you out or being investigated for letting you live there, that's a serious potential spanner in the works... I mean, there must be a reason residential park homes are so much more expensive...?

Tbh, seeing as it's only temporary, I'd ask your mum to let you stay there while you sort stuff out. Give the cat to a rescue centre. Sorry to sound harsh about the cat, but it's that or potentially homelessness for your human children OR staying in an abusive relationship. The cat would be gone instantly if i was in your shoes and that was the only sticking point.

Space in your mum's house... yes that's an issue, but you could pool your money eventually to get a bigger place together, as suggested^^. In the very short term while you get organised, it might be bearable. Like the caravan, not ideal, but doable, temporarily.

With the best will in the world, I don’t want to live with my mum long term, nor she with me. I just want to be able to stand on my own two feet and take care of my children.

On my current low paid, part time income, I don’t think I’d be able to do help to buy, I just don’t have enough money. I have a small pot of cash I’ve spent years scrimping and saving and I’d have to get a loan to pay the rest of the caravan. Finances are a major issue or or I wouldn’t even be considering this drastic action.

In the longer term, I’m planning on getting a better job/working more hours and maybe retraining to give me a better salary so I can have more options in the future but as it stands, my youngest is too small to do this.

I’m trying to save up as much as I can so I can get out but with a low income, I just don’t have a lot of spare cash. I could just carrying on living this miserable life for another two or three years until I’m
In a better financial position but I’m really not sure that’s a healthy option. I’ve already spent ten years with this man and I need to reclaim my life. This all feels so hopeless.

Static caravans are amazing now!! Lived in one and it was better than the house I’m in now. No it wasn’t at all cold. If anything actually the heating worked too well!
To be perfectly honest it didn’t even feel like a caravan. It just felt like a flat with no neighbours above or below you. We even had a garden that we were allowed to grow a hedge around for privacy.
We had a key fob so only residents/holiday makers could enter the site. It was safe. The neighbours were lovely. It just felt like a normal street tbh!
I would do it again without hesitation.
As for teasing- I never came across anyone that had any judgements. Kids or adults. If you feel uncomfortable refer to it as a small static home with an indoor swimming pool lol 😂

It’s not an abusive relationship, I made that clear. I’m not happy, but I’m safe, there are other perfectly valid reasons to end a relationship other than abuse!

I really don’t see how three of us living in one room in my mum’s house is a better solution than a space of our own?

Oh sorry, for some reason I thought you'd said it WAS abusive.

Well, yes, standing on your own two feet etc is an admirable goal, but you can't get blood out of a stone. If you don't have the money, you don't have it...yet. There's no shame in that either. Many women are in the same boat, especially with austerity, low salaries and lack of affordable housing.

I'd go for it (caravan) if it's safe to do it; ie, you aren't going to find yourself suddenly homeless if you get chucked out or the park gets closed down to be investigated and with no savings.

More sensible might be to grin and bear it with your mum for a short while. Maybe you will find out that you are entitled to some of your stbx's home or that you manage to skill up quicker than you think. Necessity is the parent of invention or whatever it is and if you're merrily enjoying a holiday park you might take your time more to skill up, but actually be in a more precarious position? That would be my thoughts anyway.

My DDs friend moved to a caravan on a holiday park last year.
She has an 11DS, 2DD and a partner. They have never been happier.
They had an amazing flat in London, but the crime drove them out.
The difference in the children us so noticable. They are so happy with safe outside space.

Living with your mum in one room would be better because you'd be £30k richer.

My PIL's static caravan is lovely, it has a power shower and central heating. It even has a washing machine!

Their site fees are big though, probably £6000 a year plus bills.

Downsides we've experienced (holidaying a lot in the PIL's caravan):

• freezer size (check if it's a proper under-counter freezer or just a freezer box in the fridge)
• gas oven takes ages to cook, especially in the summer when the site is busy.
• cold unless you have central heating, gas fires can be uneconomical.
• factor in using a launderette to wash and dry clothes (especially drying in winter as there often isn't too much room for a clothes airer).
• internet access can be very expensive on these sites, but mobile data plans can be better if you're in a good signal area.
• noisy in bad weather and when it's raining.
• facilities (pool, reception desk etc) might be closed off-season.
• you'll need to be on the council tax register somewhere, not only to maintain a good credit rating but you'll need it for your youngest's school application.
• potentially closed fully for a month or so a year, usually in Jan/Feb. You might not have access at all to the site so you'd potentially need to fully move everything out that you'd need, close down your caravan (water/electric/gas off) etc.
• There isn't space for extra furniture, they're usually fully furnished (could be a bonus).
• The twin beds are usually 2'6" wide rather than 3'. Bed guards sometimes don't fit well on that basis.
• Any work on the caravan might need to be done by the site contractors, you therefore won't be able to shop around for prices.

Positives:

• Central heating makes it lovely and warm, good insulation and double glazing make a difference.
• Heats up quickly as it's a small space.
• Looks just like any other home inside modern static caravans.
• Usually there's a kids playground or field space you can use which is probably better than most gardens. Plus not usually much traffic on the site, so kids are often safer riding their bikes/scooters around.
• You'll have to hugely declutter, but I certainly feel so much better living a more minimalist life, so that could be a great positive.

I know this is your escape plan and you want it to work, but spending a couple of hundred pounds on a financial advisor and/or solicitor could save you thousands. Do have any interest (share of) the house that you are paying the mortgage on now?

I totally agree that you should end the relationship and get set up on your own with your children, but don't make an expensive knee jerk decision.

Can you rent a caravan for a couple of months initially to see how it work logistically?

Oh yes, good plan^^ to rent one as a trial while you figure stuff out.